Furnace for treatment of pulverized ores



April 24, 1956 J. STEPHAN FURNACE FOR TREATMENT OF PULVERIZED ORE-S 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1951 z. "JV/xx. 2 7/ 1/ 0 INVENTOR Joseph Slepban ATTORNEYS United States Patent FURNACE FOR TREATMENT OF PULVERIZED ORE Joseph Stephan, Sacramento, Calif., assignor to Theodore Macklin, Sacramento, Calif.

Application October 5, 1051, Serial No. 249,859

3 Claims. (Cl. 266-20) The present invention pertains to, and it is a major object to provide, a novel furnace operative to accomplish the beneficiation of ore concentrates by the application of heat or what is known as ore roasting; the purpose being to vaporize undesirable substances in the ore concentrates, and while so vaporized to expel the same.

The furnace is especially useful for the removal from ore concentrates of sulphides, arsenic, or the like existent by nature in the ore.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an ore concentrate furnace, for the purpose described, which is of novel construction and function; such furnace including an ore concentrate receiving box adapted to be disposed over a source of heat, and the box havinga multiplicity of flues extending upwardly therethrough in spaced relation whereby to form, in alternation with said flues, a multiplicity of ore concentrate receiving wells so that maximum transfer of heat from the flues to the ore concentrates in such wells is attained.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ore concentrate furnace wherein the furnace box, which receives the ore concentratesas abovefor treatment,

adjustable hood so that the box may be moved away from said pit and hood for filling with ore concentrates for treatment, or emptying of such concentrates after treatment.

An additional object of the invention is to support the furnace box on a carriage for movement, as above; the carriage traveling on rails between a position above the fire box and a dumping position above an open-top water tank adjacent but spaced from such pit; the hot treated ore concentrates being immediately dumped into the water tank for cooling, and for the further purpose of causing shattering between the siliceous substances and the metallic substances, as is desirable to aid in subsequent refining of the ore concentrates.

It is also an object of this invention to provide-an ore concentrate furnace which is relatively simple in its structure, but designed so that it handles a volume of ore concentrates which is relatively large in comparison to the size of the furnace.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an ore concentrate furnace which effects beneficiation of the concentrates by heat in a shorter time and more quickly, uniformly, and economically, than heretofore.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical and reliable ore concentrate furnace, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangment of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation showing in full lines the furnace as in use; the elevated position of the hood and the dumping position of the furnace box being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the furnace box, detached.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the same, detached.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the furnace box or ore container, preferably rectangular in plan, is indicated generally at 1, such furnace box being open top and bottom, and at the latter includes a continuous downwardly and outwardly flaring skirt 2.

Intermediate the top and bottom thereof, and on opposite sides, the furnace box 1 is formed with trunnions 3 which seat in cradles 4 on the upper ends of posts 5 which upstand from opposite sides of a carriage 6; the posts 5 being connected by a yoke 7 which extends in clearance relation about the furnace box 1 in a horizontal plane.

The carriage 6 includes flanged wheels 8, which travel on rails 9 arranged so that the furnace box 1 may be moved or shifted between a position directly above an open-top firebox or pit 10, and an open-top water tank 11 mounted in adjacent but spaced relation to said pit.

When the furnace box 1 is in position directly above the firebox or pit 10, flames and high heat from a suitable burning substance'or burner (not shown) in such pit enter the furnace box 1 from the bottom, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. l. The flames and heat are assured of full and uniform entry into the furnace box 1 at the bottom by reason of the embodiment of the flaring skirt 2 which closely overhangs the top of the pit 10, as shown.

By reason of the novel construction of the furnace box 1, as hereinafter described in detail, the ore concentrates are supported in such box with provision for the heat from the pit 10 to pass upwardly through such concentrates; the exhaust or residual fumes being received in a domed hood 12 which then seats atop the furnace box 1, as shown in Fig. 1; such fumes passing from the hood 12 upwardly through a stack comprised of a central stack section 13 on the hood slidable in a fixed stack section 14 supported by a collar 15 from an arch frame 16.

The domed hood 12 is shiftable between a lowered working position seated atop the furnace box 1, as shown in full lines in Fig.1, and a raised, non-working position, as shown in dotted lines in said figure, whereby to permit the furnace box 1 to be carried by the carriage 6 away from the pit 10 to dumping position above the water tank 11.

Such shifting of the hood 12 is accomplished by lift links 17 pivoted on opposite sides of the hood, as at 18, and thence extending upwardly to pivotal connection, as

at 19, with a fork 20 pivoted in connection with the collar 15, as at 21; the fork 20 being movable up or down by means of a hand lever 22 selectively latched in either position by means of a latching plate 23 including suitable lever engaging latch elements, as shown.

With this arrangement, the hood 12 can be readily shifted between its working and non-working positions; the stack section 13 merely sliding up or down in the stack section 14 when the hood is so moved.

The furnace box 1, which is of novel construction, is preferably rectangular in plan, and comprises an outer shell 24 surrounded by a sheath 25 of insulation, whereby to minimize heat loss from the furnace box. In adjacent but symmetrically spaced relation from the outer shell 24 there is an inner shell 26 supported from said outer shell by connector elements 27; the space between said shells forming a narrow but continuous fiue 28 between the bottom and top of the furnace box, which assures of the desired heating of said inner shell.

The inner shell is fitted with a bottom plate 29, and

said bottom plate supports a multiplicity of upstanding,

transversely elongated flues 30 which are spaced apart,

in symmetrical relation; the fines being flat-faced and narrow in the direction of spacing, rectangular in plan, and

open both top and bottom. ,At .thebottom the fiues 30 32 for the reception of the ore concentrates 33 (see Fig.

2). Additionally the fiues30 are dimensioned andpositioned so that there is a continuous well 34 extending about the entire bank of fines, and which well 34 likewise holds concentrates.

The wells 32, and 34 are filled withconcentrates 33 'at a suitable loading point, which may be between thepit 10 and tank 11, or beyond the latter by extending the rails 9.

With the wells 32 and 34 filled with oreconcentrates 33,, the furnace box 1 is moved to its roasting position above the firebox 'or pit 10, and the hood 12 is then lowered to working position. The flames and heat from the pit 10 pass upwardly through the lines 28 and 3,0; the adjacent relationship of the flat-faced fines 30 assuring that there is maximum heat transfer into the ore concentrates in the wells. As a consequence, the ore concentrates are rapidly and efiectively brought to high heat, vaporizing the undesirable sulphides or the like; the vapors flowing upwardly with the fire exhaust fumes into the hood 12,

I of the ore concentrates.

Another advantage, of the multiple flue and well arrangement in the furnace box 1 is that the ore concentrates in the wells are not subject to undue compaction, with the result that the vaporized sulphides or the like can readily escape in gaseous condition from the load of material in the furnace box. 7

, After the roasting or beneficiation of the ore concentrates by heat is accomplished, the hood 12 is raised to its non-working position by manipulation of the lever 22, and then the carriage 6 is moved on the rails 9 to dispose the furnace box 1still upright-adacent the open-top water tank 11.

When in this position a hoist (not shown) is connected to a lifting eye 35 on said furnace box 1, and the latter is tipped to an extent to cause the hot, ore concentrates to discharge from the wells 32 and 34 into the water in the tank 11; such discharge being accomplished swiftly, and with uniform spread of the concentrates, by reason of the fact that they slide easily from the respective wells.

With such swift uniform spread discharge of the hot, ore concentrates into the water, they are immediately cooled, producing a differential shrinkage, which in turn effects a shattering or cracking of the siliceous and other gangue substances relative to the metal substances in the concentrates. This is highly advantageous, as it further breaks down the ore concentrates and consequently facilitates their subsequent processing or refinement.

It is known that the metallic substances, when subjected to the cooling action of the water, will retain their heat-expanded form slightly longer than the siliceous or other non-metallic substances, hence the shattering as above.

It will be recognized, therefore, that the present invention combines an efiicient furnace box for the reception and heat treatment of ore concentrates, with a readily operative structural arrangement whereby the heat treated ore concentrates may be immediately submerged in water for the accomplishment of the resultant shattering action.

From the foregoing description it will be'readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

. Having thus described the invention, the following'is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. A structure, for the heat treatment of pulverized ore, comprising a fire pit, an open-topped ore containing furnace box," means mounting the furnace box for movementbetween a first position directly over the pit to a second position clear thereof, a hood for the furnace. box, a stack section upstanding from the hood, and means mounting the hood above the pit for shifting between a lowered position on top of the furnace box and a raised position clear thereof; there being a fixed stack section above the hood, and the stack section on the hood slidably telescoping said fixed stack section.

2. A furnace, as in claim 1, including a frame, and a collar'on the fixed stack section secured to the frame; said hood mounting means including a lever pivoted in connection with the collar, and a lifting link pivotally connected between the hood and said lever.

3. A furnace structure for the heat treatment of .pulverized ore comprising a fire pit, an open-topped container for the ore to be treated, means movably supporting the container for movement to and from a position over the pit, a stack and'container-covering hood unit above the pit, and means mounting the unit for vertical movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Cone: Ford Cast Steel Crankshafts--Metals and Alloys, pages 267-270, September 1940. 

3. A FURNACE STRUCTURE FOR THE HEAT TREATMENT OF PULVERIZED ORE COMPRISING A FIRE PIT, AN OPEN-TOPPED CONTAINER FOR THE ORE TO BE TREATED, MEANS MOVABLY SUPPORTING THE CONTAINER FOR MOVEMENT TO AND FROM A POSITION OVER THE PIT, A STACK AND CONTAINER-COVERING HOOD UNIT ABOVE THE PIT, AND MEANS MOUNTING THE UNIT FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT. 